Mac's View: Vital points available as Donegal play Fermanagh this weekend

We have a big game in O’Donnell Park, Letterkenny on Saturday with Fermanagh our opponents. We will be well prepared for the game. Indeed, there will be very few teams better prepared than we will be. And we will need to be.

Fermanagh have taken three points out of four, and unlucky not to have four as Meath came back to deny them in Navan.

They were very good last time out at home to Kildare and with the two Cullens in the full-back line, they will take no prisoners. The twins are a driving force for the team and they can also get forward and score.

It is an important game for Donegal and one that they need to win to keep their promotion  ambitions on track. We are away to Armagh the following week and that will be a very tight game.

But we are playing well and the squad is being managed well. Indeed, we are playing with a bit of a swagger. We have picked up the odd injury but the players coming in are taking their chance and doing well. We don’t know what might be happening from week to week in training and there could well have been heavy sessions. But it is very important that we are building a squad as well as a team.

There will be changes from the side that played Cavan. I would expect that Eoghan Bán (Gallagher) will not be risked but Jim (McGuinness) did say that he expected to have Ciaran Moore and Peadar Mogan back. 

Michael Langan played the entire second half against Cavan and he should be ready for starting duty, which will give a boost to the midfield area, the one area where we have been light in recent weeks.

The timing of the game is not ideal and it’s difficult to see what the thinking behind having a game at 2 pm on a Saturday in Letterkenny, a big shopping town. 2 pm on a Sunday would make much more sense. But I suppose there must be some reason for it.

But the main thing is we must get another two points. Having six in the bag after three games would be great. Our poor record in Letterkenny gets talked about all the time but we have taken three points out of four in the last couple of years and we can build on that on Saturday.
https://www.donegallive.ie/news/gaa/1422471/francie-martin-to-manage-the-donegal-gaa-masters-team-in-2024.html

CONGRATS

My heartiest congratulations to the Abbey Vocational School, Donegal Town and our own Jamie Brennan on winning the MacLarnon Cup on Sunday last in Armagh when they defeated the college from Belfast, Knock.

I remember having Jamie as a 12 year old in Bundoran and it is great to see him now on the sideline himself coaching. It was a great win for the Donegal Town school and those players are going through a rich period.

I’m told that they will meet Dunmore Community School, Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final and it reminded me of the 1968 All-Ireland semi-final between Dunmore and St Joseph’s when I was captain. Indeed, the link to Dunmore is big for the McEniffs with my late brother Pat’s wife from there and my brother Liam’s wife was a cousin of Jack Mahon.

Congratulations to Abbey VS and good luck to  them in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Also congratulations to Martin Carney, who is being awarded the Hall of Fame in the Mayo Sports Stars this weekend. He was a helluva good footballer and also a good guy and a big loss to Donegal when he transferred to Mayo.

HURLERS

My commiserations to Mickey McCann and the Donegal hurlers, who put up stout resistance against a very strong Derry side in Letterkenny on Saturday. Mickey has a very young side this year and they did very well in the first half. They have plenty to look forward to and will be a match for all the other teams in that division.

The Donegal Ladies team had a week off but face a tough test this Sunday when they travel to Monaghan. Like the hurlers, John McNulty is developing a new, young side with a good number of the more experienced players having opted out. But he will know where he is after Sunday’s outing.

Brian McEniff was in conversation with Peter Campbell